On The Court
By Jeff Feyerer
The Chicago Bulls return most
of the same names and familiar
faces, yet are expected to look like
a drastically different team with
the arrival of new head coach, Fred
Hoiberg.
Under Thibodeau, the Bulls
haven’t finished better than 23rd in
pace in five years. With a dearth of
shot creators, the methodical Bulls’
offense was insistent on dragging
out sets with very little in the way
of flow or action away from the ball.
When you sustain as many injuries
as Chicago has in recent years,
finding offense is difficult. But when
the system employed is rigid and
not opened up to its personnel, it
becomes even harder.
Hoiberg’s style and pedigree
embrace the modern age of
basketball, in stark contrast to
Thibodeau’s. At Iowa State, his teams
were in the top 20 in efficiency,
possessions per 40 minutes, and
turnover and effective field goal
percentages. The hope is his hiring
will quicken the pace and instill
movement, generating an offense
that isn’t comparable to pulling
teeth.
The Bulls will look to push the
pace at every change of possession,
getting into their sets with
expediency. Early in the preseason,
the new look Bulls are already using
drag screens, dribble handoffs,
and spread pick and rolls with far
more frequency than they’d done
previously. It will be a fine balance,
seeking the first good shot rather
than the first available one, but for
the first time in recent memory the
Bulls’ offense seems more proactive
than not.
Roster composition does
beg some questions as to how
the team will adapt to Hoiberg’s
perimeter-oriented system with
a shortage of healthy perimeter
players and frontcourt heavy talent.
Fortunately, between Pau Gasol,
Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Taj
Gibson, and Joakim Noah, there is
enough combinations of spacing and
playmaking to function in a 4-out,
1-in system.
The change of pace will
ultimately succeed or fail with the
health of Derrick Rose, the ability
of Jimmy Butler to function as a
secondary and primary ball handler
while elevating his scoring ability,
and the further development of
wings Doug McDermott and Tony
Snell. The results may not come
quickly, but for the first time in a
while, the shots finally will.
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